“By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” Hebrews 11:8-10

Did you see verse 8? Abraham went out, not knowing where he was going.

We are introduced to Abraham’s journey to a land unknown to him but surely known to God in the book of Genesis chapter 12. As a refresher, below are the 5 first verses of Genesis chapter 12:

“Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan.”

Can I suggest you something? Often, you should let the power of Scripture wash over you. Why? Because God is His Word (John 1:1); there has never been and will never be other words that have power in of themselves expect the Word of God. Just as a reminder, God speaks and the world is formed (Genesis 1), God speaks and the dead are raised (Ezekiel 37:1-10; John 11:43-44). The power of God’s Word is literally limitless. Please, believe that. Limitless. No limit.

Back to our story. Abraham went out, not knowing where he was going.

Not knowing

We live in a day and age where we pride ourselves for knowing where we are going. And I am so guilty of that myself. I absolutely love to plan. I love to know what’s ahead so I can plan for it, and since I love books, I tend to read a book or two about what I am planning for. But God is in the business of not telling us where exactly we are going. Would we need faith if we knew where we were going? Would we need to trust God if we knew exactly what was next in the chapter of our story? God invites us into the mystery by calling us to walk on water where faith is the only thing that will prevent us from sinking.

How else would we die to our flesh? How else would God teach us to not trust ourselves? Sight is the enemy of faith. “…for we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). Don’t trust your eyes, for they operate on the basis of logic. Is faith anything logic? Faith defies logic. Faith rules in the realm of God’s power and majesty. Think of Peter walking on water, think of Jesus rising from the death, think of Enoch being taken up by God so that he wouldn’t see death, think of being born again, God’s majesty starts where logic ends. Story after story in the Word of God, we get countless examples of God moving in ways that are beyond what our minds could fathom.

So God invites us to die to ourselves by making sure that we are not aware of where we are going.

I don’t know about you, but I can never be reminded enough of the below words. Because I forget easily the price of following Christ. My mind drifts to what’s easy and comfortable but thanks be to God that He doesn’t leave me by myself. Again and again, God comes daily to rescue us from ourselves. By rescuing us, He imparts life in us.

“… if anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:23-27

We deny ourselves by trusting God over what we can see. We deny ourselves by choosing God over what feels good. We deny ourselves by praying and interceding for those who hurt us. All along not knowing what all we are doing is accomplishing. Not knowing how long until we can see His promises come to life in our lives. But we keep pressing into God because we know who He is: God’s very nature is love, faithfulness, lovingkindness, steadfast love, merciful, abounding in grace, and so much more.

“Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments;” Deuteronomy 7:9

“For the Word of the Lord is upright, and all His work is done in faithfulness.” Psalm 33:4

Did you see that? All God’s work is done in faithfulness. All. God not telling you where He is leading you? That is His perfect faithfulness at work. You don’t need to know where you are going, the One who is leading you knows where you are going. Of course, this truth doesn’t change the fact that your mind still wants to know details and desires to make plans for the future, but you have to keep bringing your desires to know at God’s feet and leave them there. This is how we die to ourselves: we live our lives according to the word of God not according to how we think or feel.

Like Children

We should always aspire to be like children as we live for Jesus Christ. To have a child-like faith that wholeheartedly believes God’s word without a shadow of doubt. Child-like joy as we serve our God. Child-like simplicity as we live our everyday lives.

“But Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all” Luke 18:16-17.

To receive the kingdom of God like a child. To freely believe our heavenly Father’s love for us. To follow Him without suspicion or distrust. To truly believe with our whole being that God is as much God as He is a Father to us. To fully let Him plan the trajectory of our lives knowing that He plans only good for us (Jeremiah 29:11); yes, we will face pain because we live in a fallen world and we still have our flesh to wrestle with; but God is lovingly committed to leading us every step of the way. There is never a season that He is too busy for us; there is no joy we will ever experience that isn’t initiated by Him.

Trust God. Ask Him to grow more faith in you and He surely will.

“Keep my heart tender
Keep my heart pure
I want to be like Mary with that alabaster jar
Pouring out everything

Keep my heart open
Keep my heart true
Just like a child, I’ll follow after You
Doing just as You do

Oh that You would have the glory
I just want to see You honored
Oh that You would have the glory
Let my life be praise to You…” Keep my heart tender by Beau Maddox

In the precious name of Jesus, I pray and I believe, Amen.